Despite nearly ten years in government, Labour have failed on crime.

The facts

Violent crime has doubled in the last eight years.

First time violent offenders are more likely to get a caution than be taken to court.

The Labour government proposed giving out fines for assault, theft and even mugging - meaning the perpetrators wouldn't get a criminal record.

Firearms offences have more than doubled, yet Labour have failed to introduce the handgun register promised after the Dunblane tragedy.

Labour opposed tougher jail sentences for knife crime.

On average, there is a violent incident in prison in England and Wales every 13 minutes.

Four out of five prisoners do not exceed the standards in writing expected of an 11-year-old. Half of male prisoners and two-thirds of female prisoners have no qualifications, making it hard for them to get work on release.

More than three in every five prisoners are convicted of another crime within two years of release, the highest proportion since records began. Released criminals are responsible for at least a million crimes a year, costing the public £11 billion.

The number of police stations has fallen from 2,059 when Labour came to power to 1,791 by 2005, a loss of 268. In Essex alone, 57 police stations have closed.

The Home Office is - in the words of Tony Blair's own Home Secretary - "not fit for purpose". After their failure to deport foreign criminals, they now admit a blunder that left 27,000 crimes off the Police National Computer. This included 540 serious or violent crimes; 70 of these offenders were convicted of another crime after returning to the UK.

One in five people now say public drunkenness and rowdiness is a "fairly big" or "very big" problem in their area.

There are 2.5 million violent incidents every year - that's one every ten seconds, or 0 just in the time you've been reading this page.

Enough is enough

It's a shocking record from a government that talks tough. It's time for positive, effective action. Find out about our 5 Steps to a Safer Britain and sign up to support them.